This week started off with me still in hospital so again, there wasn’t very much training done this week! By Monday I did just want to get out of hospital, which for me is always a sign that I am on the mend and feeling better. Thankfully, my bloods came back with good enough results for me to finally going home on Tuesday but I would need to continue my antibiotics at home and try to have a low fat diet. In the end, I got home on Tuesday afternoon, I was so happy to be home and back in my own bed but I knew I needed to take it easy. Unfortunately, I got the news that as I had come out of hospital, my dad had gone into hospital, meaning my mum was alone at home with Reggie, which worried me. So, on Wednesday I headed up to Sawtry to spend the day with my mum and our beautiful dog Reggie, it was a nice, relaxed day, doing not a lot and resting and exactly what I needed.
I had planned my first swim since coming out of hospital for Thursday in the pool. I decided to try a short and gentle swim to see how I got on and so that I could see what it felt like swimming with some pain in my Gallbladder and most importantly if swimming was going to make the pain worse. I felt strong once I was in the water, I did have some pain but not enough to stop me swimming, which was one of my biggest fears. In the end I did a nice easy 1.5km at a steady pace and I felt confident enough to get back into Open Water on Friday. Sadly, the weather had other ideas, where it had rained so hard the lakeside was just too slippy, so the lake swim session was cancelled. I was very disappointed as I couldn’t wait to be back in the lake but that’s just the nature of open water swimming, sometimes it isn’t safe, and I always fully support those organising the safety cover if they decide the conditions would be unsafe to swim in.
Not swimming on Friday did mean I could spend more time with my sister who had come up after mine and my dads game of Hokey Cokey with hospitals during the week. It was lovely to see her and be not swimming on Friday meant we could go and spend the afternoon together in Peterborough on Saturday. We did a bit of wandering round shops and then she treated me to the AMAZING dessert restaurant/shop/diner. Ive seen pictures of some of the desserts they have on offer and they look amazing, a bit like a heart attack on a plate but unbelievably yummy! I had an Oreo Waffle white chocolate yummy thing with a Kinder Bueno milkshake, lots and lots of chocolate and most definitely not part of a low fat diet BUT it tasted really good!
I was a little worried that I would wake up on Sunday in a lot of pain from my Gallbladder as I was told it could flare up pain wise if I eat a lot of fat, im pleased to say it didn’t. I am still going to be careful and stick to the lower fat diet where possible but when training for a swim as long as Windermere I need to be able to replace the calories I burn in training. After my sister went home on Sunday I took Reggie out for an adventure, mine and Reggies adventures always tend to have something entertaining happen during them and this adventure was no different. I decided that we would do a bit of off roading in my wheelchair by going along the bottom of the fields so that he could run and sniff and explore and you can tell from the tail how much he loves this route!
We then made our way to the playground he loves, it always reminds me a bit of Teletubby Land because of the hills and Reggie loves playing with his ball there (he is always on a lead and I ensure we stay away from the play equipment so we don’t get in the way of children playing). We played there for a while before heading to St.Judiths Road. Reggie loves this road, it is very rare that we see cars and it allows him to easily run alongside me rather than in-front of me as I can be on he road and he can run along the grass verge. All was going well until we came face to face with a sheep in the middle of the road, at that point we had a major stand-off. I still haven’t worked out who won, after walking Reggie for so long I can automatically tell how he is going to react and I could tell he was getting prepared to pounce so I swiftly dragged him in the opposite direction!
So overall, this week has been another week with little training, it has tested me mentally and physically and to be honest, I am glad it is over BUT it was lovely to spend the weekend with my family after all that has happened, and it was especially nice to spend some time with just my sister and I. It is strange and a little scary to think that the next time I will see her is in Lake Windermere, just a few days before the biggest swim of my life! She has been with me from me learning to swim to now, and I am so glad that she has agreed to spend hours sitting on a boat in Windermere watching me swim and feeding me, I wouldn’t want anyone else there!
Stats:
1 Pool Swim – 1568m